by Fawn Lowery
Lorna maneuvered her Ferrari through the crowded streets. Venturing downtown during lunchtime was a chore, since most of the office complexes in the city usually converged on a set number of restaurants, but it was a special occasion that brought Lorna and Amber into the fray.
The traffic was at a stop and Lorna exchanged exasperated glances with Amber. Lunch might be late. Thank God, she had made reservations. She turned her gaze out the side window, surveying the pedestrians on the sidewalk and those coming from the main entrance of St. George's Hospital across the street. A cluster of nurses in white uniforms hurried along the walk to summon the light at the corner. Absently, she watched them until they disappeared from sight then her gaze fell on a tall man pushing another man in a wheelchair. The man seated had a cast on his right leg and right arm. She watched the pair, thinking there was something vaguely familiar about the tall man doing the pushing—as well as the man sitting in the chair.
“That looks like...” Her words died on her lips as she stared at the two.
“Who?” Amber inquired, twisting in her seat to look out the side window of the car.
“Lance.”
“Where?”
“There. The man pushing the wheel chair.” Lorna pointed at the pair as they approached a car parked at the curb. She strained her eyes trying to be certain. “Lance said he was going out of town, but—”
Amber let out a surprised gasp. “The man in the wheelchair is Ramon. I recognize him from his picture on the website.”
Lorna turned a puzzled face on Amber. “No. Ramon—real name, Lance Bishop—is the man pushing the wheelchair.”
Amber shook her head. “Ramon has the broken leg,” she said with an emphatic ring to her voice. “He has this black hair that lays on his shoulders and beckons to a woman's fingers...”
Both women stared out the car window until the man with the broken leg was safely inside the car and the other man gave the wheelchair over to the nurse who had accompanied them out of the hospital. Momentarily the black Cadillac merged into the maelstrom of traffic headed in the opposite direction.
“What are you thinking?” Amber questioned, eyeing her friend.
“Could the world be blessed with two Ramons?” Lorna bit out. “Have I been duped?”
Lorna paced the length of her living room. Ever since spying Lance and Ramon—or Ramon and Lance—she had been trying to figure things out. The two men clearly looked alike, enough to make her think they were brothers. Amber was adamant that the man she had hired to treat Lorna to a birthday sex bash was the man in the wheelchair with the broken leg and arm. And Lorna couldn't be certain that she was wrong. She easily recalled the shiny black shoulder-length hair Ramon sported when he came to her house that night. But a week later, he had returned with short-cropped hair and confessed his real name was Lance Bishop.
“Did I have sex with Ramon or Lance—or both men?”
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Chapter 19
On Friday afternoon, Lorna received word from Carl Browne. He had found everything in order with the final set of receipts she supplied, and her audit was complete. There were no penalty charges and he was appreciative of her cooperation in the matter.
Lorna sat at her desk and read the letter the agent sent over along with her returned documents. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Lance had anything to do with the outcome of the audit, or its abrupt ending. If he had pulled some strings, she was grateful. Whether she made her thanks known was another thing. She wasn't certain whether she ever wanted to see him again, now that all fear of having his child had passed.
A knock sounded on her office door, bringing her thoughts back to the present. Putting aside the documents, she rose to answer the door but before she could cross the room, Amber poked her head into the office.
“Guess who's here to see you?” she said, her eyes widened in surprise.
Lorna didn't have time to react before Amber swung the door open and Lance stepped inside the office.
Lorna and Amber exchanged curious glances as Lance crossed the room to stand before Lorna. He was handsomely dressed in a dove gray Armani suit with white shirt and navy pinstriped tie. And the mere sight of him set Lorna's pulse racing.
“Have you got your period yet?” he asked in a low tone.
“Yes,” Lorna quickly replied.
Amber snickered and hurried out of the room, closing the door.
Lance threw a causal glance over his shoulder as Amber left them, then turned a solemn face to Lorna. “So, I'm not going to be a father—yet,” he remarked.
“Congratulations,” Lorna said with an air of sarcasm. She stepped past him and returned to slide in the chair flanking her desk. She was prepared to hurl a multitude of accusations at him and thought it best to be seated when she began—should her knees begin to weaken from being so close to him. His fragrance seemed to fill the small office and ignite every sense organ in her body.
“Have you a brother?” she began, folding her hands atop the desk and staring at him.
He smiled slightly and came to sit on the corner of her desk. “How did you find out?”
His admission, of sorts, surprised her. She quickly began blurting out all she had seen while stopped in traffic.
“So, which one of the Bishop boys screwed me—or did you both?” She was visibly irate, her teeth clamped tightly together.
Lance pulled in a deep breath and rose from the desk. Sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks, he crossed the office to look out the single window.
“Ramon's real name is Raymond,” he began, his back to Lorna. He turned suddenly, pinning her with his dark gaze. “But before I say anything more, let me say that I'm genuinely disappointed that we aren't having a child together. I had already pictured a little girl with your dark beauty, jade-colored eyes—”
“Save it for someone who gives a shit!” Lorna bit out.
He chuckled at her, and winked one dark eye as if to tease her. “Motherhood could take on a new meaning with you playing the role.”
“I never wanted to play in the first place,” she countered. “I just want to know what kind of a game you thought you and your brother were playing.”
He shrugged one broad shoulder as though dismissing the incident altogether. “Nobody got hurt.”
His comment only served to raise her ire. She leapt to her feet, knocking the Rolodex on the corner of her desk over. “That's your excuse?” she threw at him.
“I don't need an excuse,” he said in a calm tone.
“I could slap—” She marched stiff-legged across the floor, her right hand drawn back, her intent to slap his handsome cheek. “You pompous—”
He caught her hand, making her even more irate at him. Seeing she couldn't land a blow to his face, she placed a well-aimed kick at his right shin.
“You bastard!” she yelled as her blow landed home.
“Ouch!” he yelped, jerking her against his chest and wrapping his arms around her waist. “You little hellcat. I ought to—”
“What? Try another trick on me? Tell me another lie? Make a fool out of me again?” Lorna yelled.
His arms held her like a steel vice, pinning her tightly against his chest. “I ought to spank your butt,” he muttered.
Spank? Spank?
“In fact, I think I will!”
He moved so quickly Lorna barely had time to object before he pulled her across the room, dropped into a chair, then turned her across his knees.
“You're the sassiest broad I've ever met!” he alleged, raising his hand to her shapely backside.
Lorna tried to fight her way free of his forceful grasp. She flailed her arms and legs, and tried to wrench free. Her long hair fell across her face and her red suit twisted above her thighs.
Smack!
“Ouch! You son-of-a-bitch!” Lorna yelped.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
“You basta
rd!”
His blows were hard and landed precisely against Lorna's rounded buttocks. The pain was excruciating and the humiliation reddened her face.
“Stop it!”
“You need to be taught a lesson,” Lance said.
His muscular thighs were very noticeable beneath Lorna's abdomen. She tried to twist to one side, to free herself from his punishing blows, only to find him smiling down at her. The thought that he was enjoying her pain and humiliation only caused her to struggle harder to get loose, to no avail since her strength was nil compared to his.
Lance continued to land his well-placed palm against Lorna's rounded hips, holding her steadfast across the back with one forearm.
Her butt stung despite the covering of skirt and panties and she felt quite disheveled from all the wiggling around trying to get free. Finally, she came to the conclusion that he wasn't about to release her until he had satisfied his own desire to humiliate her. She halted all efforts to escape, becoming limp across his legs, her hair hanging across her face and spilling onto the carpet.
Smack!
Smack!
The intensity of his blows suddenly seemed to manifest a new feeling inside her body. Pain turned into an erotic sensation that traveled through her insides, making her pull in a deep breath and buck her hips against his sturdy legs.
“Oh, babe!” Lance murmured, halting his raised hand in the air.
She felt so aroused sexually she could barely resist the urge to rip off her clothes and spread her legs for him.
He levered her up so quickly she could hardly believe it. Within the next few seconds, she was in his arms, her body suspended across his lap and his mouth driving down hard atop hers. His hand slid up her skirt and his fingers slipped inside her panties, finding her aroused clit.
There was nothing Lorna could do—she craved his touch, needed his stroking fingers working her clitoris. She'd never been so aroused from something so extraordinary in all her life. She kissed him back, opening her lips and tangling her tongue helplessly with his as his fingers stroked and rubbed her sensitive tissues.
He brought about an orgasm that shot through her with a jolt, making her pull her mouth from his so she could gasp for air. She pushed her face into the hollow of his throat and squeezed her eyes shut as the onslaught of climactic sensations spilled through her insides.
* * * *
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* * *
Chapter 20
The urge to strip out of her clothes and have sex with Lance hadn't completely evaporated when Lorna pushed her way free of his arms and got to her feet. Her knees felt weak and her step was somewhat uncertain as she proceeded to straighten her clothes and adjust her hair.
Damn him! She slid her gaze in his direction. He looked very smug, as though he had done something to her she'd never be able to deny—even if she lived to be a hundred. Well...she supposed he was right. He was the first man ever to spank her.
And I liked it.
Lorna turned to face Lance as he rose from the chair across the room. Her cheeks flamed from humiliation and her breathing was erratic, but he still owed her an explanation—she was adamant about that fact—regardless of how his spanking had made her feel. A note of curiosity suddenly sprang up in her. Had he known she would react in such a way? Had he spanked her on purpose—just to stall in having to explain to her?
She watched him stride across the room to stand at the window. He probably thought she was an idiot—a silly woman who couldn't control her sexual urges. She pulled in a steadying breath. Well, he could think what he wanted. Damn him! But he still owed her an explanation.
“Now that you've humiliated me—”
Lance turned abruptly and pinned her with his dark gaze. “I did nothing to humiliate you,” he alleged.
Lorna straightened her spine, pushing her breasts forward to strain against the front of her suit coat. Tipping her chin in a slightly defiant manner, she locked gazes with him.
“You spanked me, for God's sake!”
He smiled slowly. “Honey, that was sexual.”
He came toward her and she took quick refuge on the other side of the desk.
“Just tell me the truth about...about that night you came to my house. Was that you—or your brother?”
He chuckled aloud. “Does it matter—since you aren't pregnant?”
A look that Lorna defined as dismal passed across his handsome features, fleeting, yet there nonetheless. For a second she wondered what was behind the look, but then pushed the thought aside. He had deceived her—just how she wasn't quite sure—her rapidly growing feelings for him had been severely shaken.
Her own admission almost made her knees collapse. Was she really falling for the guy? Had the sex they shared meant something beyond physical enjoyment or sating carnal need? She raked her fingers through her hair. She had realized she needed to make some changes in her life—only after she thought she might be pregnant. She grimaced and turned her face away from Lance's view. She had foolishly thought he might be the change she sought—but not if there was deceit between them.
Lance rounded the desk so quickly Lorna hadn't time to move. He grasped her shoulders and held her at arm's length.
“I came to your house that night—not Raymond. I was the one who forgot the condom—not my brother.”
She raised her eyes to look into his face. “Which one of you is the gigolo—or are you both some sort of... sex team?”
He chuckled at her. “We're no sex team, Lorna.”
“Who's the gigolo?” she asked in a steady tone.
“Neither of us.”
“Liar!” she spat, twisting free of his hands. “Amber paid one of you twenty-five hundred dollars to come to my house and—” Her words broke off. Her cheeks flamed as tears sprang to her eyes.
“Okay. Let me explain,” he said, catching her hand. “Ray was in a car wreck and suffered a broken arm and leg on the day he was supposed to come to your house. He called me to stand in for him.”
Lorna jerked her head around to look at him. “So your brother is the gigolo with the website?”
“He's temporarily retired since he broke his arm and leg.”
“What about all the women you told me about—were they your conquests or Ray's?”
“Some of each.”
“Then why did you lie to me?” She shook her head at him. “Did you ever have any intention of telling me the truth?”
“I told you my real name. I even gave you a business card.” He smiled at her. “When I said you were my last client—Lorna—you were my only client.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I would have come clean if you had turned up pregnant. But now I think I'm falling in love with you, and it scares the hell out of me.”
She pulled in a surprised breath. He had asked her once if she'd ever been in love—but she had no idea he might be referring to himself.
He pulled her into his arms. “I've never really loved a woman before and the second I laid eyes on you—I wanted you. I wanted to rip off your clothes and make your body mine. I wanted to devour every luscious inch of you, honey.”
“Lance,” she muttered, placing one palm against his chest. “I've been confused since I opened the door and saw you standing there.”
He laughed suddenly. “I was absolutely awful as a male stud. I took one look at you and became so fucking nervous I could hardly speak.” He let out a long breath. “The next day, I went and got a haircut, then told Ray there wouldn't be any more playing stud for me. He bitched because I left his bag of toys behind.”
A short giggle leapt from Lorna's throat. “I thought you looked ridiculous in that purple shirt.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, nodding his head. “Ray said put on the clothes, take the food from the fridge and the music CDs and go fuck this lady. He handed me the address and then went into surgery to get his arm and leg set. There wasn't time for me to object.”
“He should have reminded you to use a condom
,” she quipped, her mood lifting.
“I was so turned on, Lorna, then when you wouldn't have sex with me in the bedroom—well, you threw off my timing. I'm sorry. You were only supposed to be a one-night stand—and I blew it.”
Lorna cocked one eyebrow at him. “Well, I wouldn't exactly say you blew it. For the past two weeks, all I've been able to think about is you.”
“Really?” he asked, his fingers tracing the arc of her cheek. “Because, I've lain awake at night thinking about you. I swear to God, Lorna. I think I've fallen in love with you.”
His mouth pressed atop hers suddenly as he drew her into his arms. A small mew came from Lorna's throat as she settled against his chest and kissed him back. Peacefulness settled inside her body.
“I'll never lie to you again. I swear,” he promised.
Her eyes flickered open as their mouths parted and he spoke. “Are you really disappointed that I'm not pregnant?” she asked in a low tone.
He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers. “I know that getting you pregnant is no way to start a relationship—but if there was ever a woman who I would want for the mother of my children—it would be you.”
His words seemed to curl about her heart, making her feel sad. She had threatened to have an abortion—to destroy the life they created—
“I'm sorry,” she murmured. “But I couldn't see myself being a single parent to a gigolo's child.”
“But I'm not a gigolo, honey. I'm a successful attorney specializing in corporate law. I own my own home. I have three cars, a condo on the beach—”
She placed one hand across his mouth, silencing him.
“I'm just glad you're not a man who has sex with other women for money,” she stated.
“And I've hundreds of frequent flyer miles.”
She laughed. “Lance!”
He kissed her, a quick peck on the mouth that surprised her, and he pulled her back into the tender circle of his arms. “Can we start over?” he whispered against her ear.
“What a wonderful idea,” she replied as she snuggled in his tight embrace. “I could use a fresh start.”